Pictures: Netflix
Two major cancelations came our way this week, and while there are plenty of outrage pieces on social media and websites that don’t really understand how anything works, both shouldn’t really come as a huge surprise. Welcome to our top 10 report, where we’ll also dive into the debuts of The Platform 2, which did great, and It’s What’s Inside, which had one of the worst movie launches of 2024.
Note: In this report of Netflix’s hours viewed from September 30th, 2024, to October 6th, 2024, we’ll use “Complete Viewings Equivalent,” or CVE, expressed in millions. That means we divide the hours viewed announced by Netflix by the runtime of films or series. It allows for better comparisons between films and series, but it’s not an audience metric. It is the minimum number of viewings if they were all complete from the first second to the last of the film or season.
1. KAOS and That 90s Show are canceled
Two series were canceled recently on Netflix: the British series KAOS, which premiered at the end of August, and the American series That ’90s Show, whose second season saw a drop of nearly 80% in viewership compared to season 1, while season 3 didn’t even break into the Top 10. Looking at all the new seasons of English-language series released in 2024 (excluding miniseries), these two cancellations are not surprising at all.
And while we’re at it, if there’s creative room for a sequel to Nobody Wants This, I imagine the renewal shouldn’t be far off as the graph is pretty telling about where the threshold is for a surefire renewal on Netflix.
2. The Platform 2 Soars
Four years after the first film’s release (which still ranks 5th in the all-time international Top 10), The Platform returned with a sequel, and it was fair to wonder if there was still an audience for it. The answer seems to be “yes,” as the Spanish film achieved the third-best debut for an international film released on a Friday since June 2021, with 19.4 million CVEs in three days.
It remains to be seen how it will hold up in the coming weeks, as it’s off to a better start than Black Crab, which currently sits at #10 in the all-time international Top 10. The challenge is that sequels often launch more explosively but tend to drop off more quickly, so we’ll see if this platform can rise higher.
3. It’s What’s Inside flounders
The American film It’s What’s Inside was promoted by Netflix recently (they bought it at a high price from Sundance earlier this year), and I watched it and thought it was really good. Still, I’m also not surprised by its poor launch, with just 3.3 million EVCs in 3 days—making it the worst debut of 2024 for an English-language film released on a Friday that managed to break into the Top 10 in its release week. The editing is quite unconventional, and I can understand if it puts off some viewers. But the rest of the film is really solid, and I hope it finds a second wind next week.
4. Is Love is blind at risk?
Love is Blind is back for its seventh season, but it seems to be resonating a bit less this year, with only 5.2 million CVEs in the first five days for its initial batch of episodes. This is noticeably lower than the season 6 debut, which had already seen a decline compared to the launch of season 3 so it seems fair to ask how long can Love is blind go on.
5. Heartstopper still has a beating heart.
The sweet British series Heartstopper returned for its third season, but the numbers are rather average, with this season debuting well below the previous one at just 4.5 million EVCs. However, it’s in line with the first season, though season 3 is likely to have less staying power over time. So, cancellation or renewal? It seems there’s creative room for a final fourth season, which Netflix might grant, given the very enthusiastic critical and audience reception surrounding the show. I’ll go with “Renewal for a final season” as my official prediction.
6. Unsolved Mysteries still has fans.
Season 4 of Unsolved Mysteries came out just a few weeks ago, and Netflix is already back with season 5. How many unsolved mysteries are there, really, to fuel so many seasons? Season 5 has had a slightly less impressive launch than season 4, though the drop isn’t massive either.
That’s all for this week, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments below and keep an eye out on our top 10 reports a little later this week as we’ll be doing a deep dive on theatrical movies on Netflix!
